World News - Army chief wants soldier increase earlier than originally planned

The Army's new chief of staff says he wants to accelerate by two years a plan to increase the nation's active-duty soldiers by 65,000. The Army has set 2012 as its target date for a force expansion to 547,000 troops, but Gen. George Casey said Saturday that he has told his staff to have the soldiers ready earlier. "I said that's too long. Go back and tell me what it would take to get it done faster," he said in an interview with The Associated Press during a stop in Hawaii. Casey became the Army's chief of staff on April 12 after serving as the top U.S. commander in Iraq for two-and-a-half years. He visited Hawaii for a few days in a Pacific region tour to talk with soldiers and their families. He next heads to Japan, South Korea and Alaska. Casey said his staff has submitted a proposal for the accelerated timeline but that he has yet to approve the plan. He said the Army was stretched and would remain that way until the additional troops were trained and equipped.... http://www.usatoday.com

A son kept the body of his 93-year-old mother in the apartment they shared for days after she died, police said.The body of Helen Salonen was discovered in her Westchester County home after officials with the state Office for the Aging were unable to meet with the woman, Capt. Joseph Schaller of the New Rochelle police said Friday. Authorities were investigating, but do not believe the death was suspicious.Her 52-year-old son, Robert, kept telling officials his mother was sleeping, Schaller said. But police on Tuesday found the woman dead in her bed, "apparently for several days," he said.The medical examiner's office has not determined the cause or time of death, police said.Salonen, a longtime resident of the building in New Rochelle, had been living with her son for about eight years, said David Kuilan, the building superintendent....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269116,00.html

Seven Chinese oil workers kidnapped by rebels in Ethiopia have been released and handed to the Red Cross, Red Cross officials and the rebels said. One Somali and an Ethiopian oil worker were also released, an Ogaden National Liberation Front spokesman said, adding all were in good health. The men were seized during a rebel attack on a Chinese oil installation in eastern Ethiopia. During the attack, nine Chinese and 65 Ethiopians were killed. The clashes took place at an oil field in Abole, a small town about 120km (75 miles) from the regional capital, Jijiga. Abdirahman Mahdi, a London-based spokesman for the ONLF, said the seven Chinese were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross together with one Somali and an Ethiopian....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6605561.stm

Protests have taken place around the world to demand intervention to end the fighting in Sudan's Darfur region. Organisers of the Global Day for Darfur said events were taking place in 35 capitals to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict. Protests included a rally in Downing Street in London, as well as a march on Rome's Coliseum and a demonstration in the German capital Berlin. Some 200,000 people have died since the conflict began, according to the UN. Celebrities backing the campaign, such as George Clooney and Mick Jagger, have signed a statement accusing the international community of apathy. Under the slogan "Time is up... protect Darfur", demonstrators will turn round some 10,000 hourglasses filled with fake blood to highlight the continuing violence in Darfur. At the London event, Kristyan Benedict from Amnesty International said: "In certain parts of Darfur, blood is running like water...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6604555.stm

Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in Istanbul in support of secularism in Turkey, amid a row over a vote for the country's next president. The protesters are concerned that the ruling party's candidate for the post remains loyal to his Islamic roots. The candidate, Abdullah Gul, earlier said he would not quit despite growing criticism from opponents and the army. Mr Gul failed to win election in a first round parliamentary vote which opponents say was unconstitutional. Opposition MPs boycotted the vote. They are also challenging its validity in the Constitutional Court. An army statement on Friday accused the government of tolerating radical Islam and vowed to defend secularism. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6604643.stm

An interchange connecting highways to the busy Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge collapsed early Sunday after a tractor trailer hauling 8,600 gallons of gasoline caught fire, authorities said.The truck's driver suffered second-degree burns, Officer Trent Cross of the California Highway Patrol told KGO-TV.The tanker ignited after crashing into a pylon on an interchange connecting westbound lanes of Interstate 80, which includes the Bay Bridge, to southbound I-880 in Oakland, officials said. (Watch I-Reporter Paul Kochli explain his video of the aftermath of the fiery truck crash )The fire led to the collapse of a second interchange from eastbound I-80 to eastbound Interstate 580 located above the first interchange, Cross said.The Bay Bridge's heavily traveled double decks run about two miles across the San Francisco Bay....http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/29/highway.collapse.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us